Amit Trivedi creates a rustic and edgy soundtrack for this unconventional love story

The soundtrack of this seemingly passionate and rebellious love story is introduced with a lilting trumpet tune in the title track of Ishaqzaade. This song instantly establishes the amazing chemistry between music composer Amit Trivedi and lyricist Kausir Munir. The wind instrument gives way to a soft and nuanced vocal rendition by Javed Ali, who absorbs every little note and breathes out love and romance. Shreya Ghosal steps in towards the end and adds a new dimension to this track. Her voice cuts through the percussion smoothly, just like a knife through butter.

Chokra Jawaan is totally desi – almost in the zone of Beedi and Namak from Omkara, composed by Vishal Bharadwaj. But the lyrics are not zingy enough. Lines like Ab tu bhi maan le, naino ke jam de…don’t have the punch. Also, the tempo is lethargic. The sound of glass bottles clinking and gunshots intersperse the drum beats, making it a complete rustic experience, perhaps typical of a small town in northern India, where lawlesswness rules. Sunidhi Chauhan breezes through, while Vishal Dadlani brings a certain amount of raw appeal to the number. A little more energy in the lyrics and singing could have lifted this song.

After listening to the first two tracks you are bound to come up with a question. Can you pick some of the most non-poetic words (at least conventionally speaking) and string them together to make a melodious and hummable song? Ishaqzaade proves you can, especially with Aafaton ke parinde. It is a song title that is bound to stick with you for a long time and it’s not necessarily lyrical, is it? It gets more interesting as you go further: Halaalon me, haramon me, jo dikhte the fasaanon me, Ishaqzaade, Ishaqzaade, kahaan hain ab jahanon mein. It’s an all-out representation of this ferocious love story. While Divya Kumar sings the classical alaaps, Suraj Jagan induces the grunge rock elements with his power-packed voice. This number rocks!

The next track, Pareshaan is the best on this playlist; and its fresh singer Shalmali Kholgade, all the way! She moves smoothly from low notes to high-pitched vocals and then back to low. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wins some awards this year. Apart from Shalmali’s voice, the harmonium is also the hero of the song. The entire combination – electric guitar, violins, drums and harmonium – creates a crescendo, a breath-taking song.

The remix version works too. The tempo fluctuates and the vocals are used perfectly in sync with the electronic sounds and beats, differentiating this one from regular remixes that are part of so many Bollywood album these days.

Jhallah wallah is an item number with naughty and playful lyrics but it refrains from getting into the vulgar zone. Munir’s coquettish word play and use of English in desi style (samjha humne tha golden jubilee jise wo to matinee dikhakar ke chumma le gaya) work in favour of this mujra number. After singing the soothing Ishaqzaade title track, Shreya Ghosal renders one of the most colourful and playful songs of her career with Jhallah wallah.

Ishaqzaade’s soundtrack is passionate, romantic and rebellious. While Pareshaan emanates the aroma of soil soaked in the first showers of monsoon, Aafaton ke parinde smells of smoke rising from a raging fire. Ishaqzaade has both – the spunk of a teenager and the heart of a hopeful lover.

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/ishaqzaade-music-review-lots-of-spunk-and-heart/feed/2Amit Trivedi: AR Rahman is my role modelhttp://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/amit-trivedi-ar-rahman-is-my-role-model/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/amit-trivedi-ar-rahman-is-my-role-model/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2012 04:50:14 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=159224The Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana music composer is the toast of B-town, and has worked with the biggest names in Hindi cinema. Known for his range and distinct sound, Amit Trivedi believes in taking each day as it comes

Amit Trivedi shot to fame with his amazing music for Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D. This year his music for Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu,Ishaqzaade, Aiyyaa and English Vinglish are strong contenders for the best music awards. His latest offering, director Sameer Sharma’s directorial debut Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana is climbing the charts. Though a bit under the weather, Amit exclusively shares the pressure that he deals with, his passion for music and his equation with his collaborators…

You had almost rejected Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana; how did you come back on board?

When I was offered Luv Shuv… I had a lot on my plate and I didn’t think I would be able to do it. I take about a year to compose the music for a film, sometimes even more. Luv Shuv took me a year and half to compose. Sameer (Sharma) was insistent that I do music for his film, and then when Anurag (Kashyap) stepped in, I had to be a part of it. It hurts me when I have to say ‘No’ to filmmakers, but I can’t do every project that comes my way. Sometimes I have to reject films from big ticket filmmakers because I have to ensure that the quality of my work doesn’t go down. If I let the quality be hampered, I will stop getting offers from same directors who will then say that I have lost my touch. So I would rather not do a film than let my work suffer.

Most of your superhit tracks have come from your collaboration with lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and Anurag Kashyap….

Amitabh and I go a long way; we have been friends for the longest time and he wrote the lyrics for my debut album, Om The Fusion Band. We have hung out together, had fun and we understand our space. Amitabh was struggling to get a break as a singer, but I thought he wrote very well. When I was offered Anurag’s Aamir, I asked him if he would like to write the lyrics, he said, ‘Ok, let us give it a try’, and the rest is history. It is a delight to work with Anurag because he gives me complete freedom to experiment. He is open to all kinds of improvisations and that is something a composer needs most. I think I am connected to Anurag and Amitabh like some Bluetooth. (Laughs)

You invariably sing the best song on every album that you compose…

It is definitely not the case; I swear that I don’t do it consciously. Please believe me, it is not so. I record the scratch version of the song in my voice, and the director decides to keep my version. There are many times I try to get other singers to sing my compositions, but it just happens that many times the director finds my rendition more suitable to the film.

Is there a lot of pressure on you to deliver hit albums?

Yes, there is a lot of pressure to come up with albums that strike a chord. There are times when I have to visit a doctor – to get injections to keep the sanity intact.

What is your take on ‘item numbers’?

I don’t think like that – for me the song has to be integral to the film. Take Chokra jawaan re from Ishaqzaade. You might call it an item number, but it is not. I was briefed by Aditya (Chopra) that it was a coming of age song where the boy had to prove to the girl that he is grown up and that he can satisfy a girl. Given the setting of the film, and the milieu I had to compose something that suited the mood of the film. Even the Jhalla song – I was not consciously making an ‘item’ song, it just turned out to be one of the more popular numbers on the album.

What happened to Om The Fusion Band? Will you collaborate again?

I don’t think that will happen because we have all moved on to doing things that we want to. Amitabh (Bhattacharya) was a part of the band and we are still together, but the rest are doing other things.

You have worked with filmmakers like Aditya Chopra (Ishaqzaade), Karan Johar (Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu) and Anurag Kashyap. How difficult is it to work with different schools of cinema?

It doesn’t change much for me because at the end of the day it is just me who has to compose the music. I don’t even have a partner like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Salim-Suleiman. I just stick to the brief and ensure that the music is up to the mark. Of course there are a lot of big names and money involved, but as long as the music comes from my soul and I am happy about it, that is all I care about. For me, the music should come out organically.

Of late your brand of music is compared to that of Sneha Khanwalkar. She is known for taking off to far away places to seek inspiration to compose. Is that how you work too?

Oh, is it so? I wasn’t aware of that comparison, but that is not how I compose music. It is more internal for me. There are times when I head out too, but that is not very often.

Among your contemporaries, which composer do you look up to?

For me it is AR Rahman; I have learned everything from him. He has not taught me directly, but that is where my inspiration comes from. Rahman is my role model.

Do you have ambitions of winning a Grammy or an Academy Award too?

(Laughs) No, I have never thought about this. I like to take each day as it comes. I haven’t changed much since I started; I have been the same person. I like to take each day as it comes.

]]>http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/amit-trivedi-ar-rahman-is-my-role-model/feed/0ISHAQZAADE new song: Pareshaanhttp://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/ishaqzaade-new-song-pareshaan/
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/ishaqzaade-new-song-pareshaan/#commentsMon, 09 Apr 2012 11:38:27 +0000http://www.bollywoodlife.com/?p=94856Watch the new romantic song from director Habib Faisal’s next film

Ishaqzaade is probably one of the most unlikely films coming from Yash Raj Films. Though it is being touted as the launch vehicle of star-son, Arjun Kapoor, we have heard that the script is powerful and is said to be in the league of Omkara. The Pareshaan song is composed by Amit Trivedi and written by Kausar Munir. The opening of the song will vaguely remind you of a Kailash Kher song called Teri deewani. But that’s where the comparison ends as it develops its own sweet flavour. Ishaqzaade is Amit Trivedi’s first film with Yash Raj and it seems that he has gone out of his way to come up with songs that will linger on, long after the movie leaves the theatres. The lyrics are top notch and Kausar Munir, who has earlier written two songs, one for Anjaana Anjaani (title track) and another for Tashan (Falak tak), is here to stay. The icing on the cake is the refreshing way in which it has been shot. And kudos to Arjun and Parineeti for taking the song to another altitude. Did you like this romantic number?